Qantas and Virgin Australia have both landed in the top 10 of a global list of the world’s safest airlines for 2026.
The annual rankings, released by AirlineRatings.com, assess 320 carriers across safety, operations and crew performance.
The top 25 lists cover both full-service and low-cost airlines.
Taking the top spot, for the first time, was Middle Eastern carrier, Etihad, followed by Cathay Pacific. Qantas placed a commendable third, while Virgin Australia finished in ninth position.
“This is the first year a Gulf carrier has taken the number one spot,” AirlineRatings CEO Sharon Petersen said.
“Etihad achieved this through a combination of factors: a young fleet, advancements in cockpit safety, particularly around turbulence, a crash-free history, and the lowest incident rate per flight of any airline on the list.”
Elsewhere, Air New Zealand placed sixth in the rankings, while Fiji Airways also made its debut on the list.
“Much of our criteria remains consistent year on year and considers incident rates adjusted for the total number of flights, fleet age, serious incidents, pilot training and international safety audits,” Petersen remarked.
“One change for this year is that we are placing a greater emphasis on turbulence prevention, as it remains the leading cause of in-flight injuries. To support this, we consider an airline’s participation in the IATA Turbulence Aware programme or equivalent, as well as the Airline Ratings onboard safety audit. Transparency from airlines is also critical to this process.
When it comes to low-cost carriers, Hong Kong’s HK Express led the way, followed by Jetstar and Singapore-based Scoot.
“HK Express claimed the top accolade for a second time, driven by a modern fleet, exceptionally low incident rate, and an almost flawless onboard safety audit,” Petersen said.
“Given Hong Kong’s stringent incident reporting requirements, this low incident rate and absence of serious incidents genuinely reflects a highly disciplined and well-run operation.”
Another notable inclusion is the presence of Spring Airlines China, which marks the debut of a Chinese carrier on the list.
“Overall, it is important to note that every airline featured in the 2026 list has recorded incidents over the past two years, from tail strikes to on-board fires and engine shutdowns, yet the actual incident rate per flight sits between 0.002 and 0.09 across the airlines, which is a true credit to the industry as a whole,” Petersen said.
With the gap between the safest airlines so narrow, she was also quick to warn travellers not to read too much into small numerical differences.
“We may be reaching a point where traditional rankings risk being misleading, and where grouping airlines into performance tiers provides a more accurate reflection of reality,” Petersen stated.
“All airlines in the Top 25 are world leaders in aviation safety, and claims that one is significantly safer or less safe than another are both sensationalist and false.”
The Top 25 Full-Service Airlines for 2026 (in order)
- Etihad
- Cathay Pacific
- Qantas
- Qatar
- Emirates
- Air New Zealand
- Singapore Airlines
- EVA Air
- Virgin Australia
- Korean Air
- STARLUX
- Turkish Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
- ANA
- Alaska Airlines
- TAP Air Portugal
- SAS
- British Airways
- Vietnam Airlines
- Iberia
- Lufthansa
- Air Canada
- Delta
- American Airlines
- Fiji Airways
The Top 25 Safest Low-Cost Airlines for 2026 (in order)
- HK Express
- Jetstar Airways
- Scoot
- Fly Dubai
- EasyJet Group
- Southwest
- airBaltic
- VietJet Air
- Wizz Air Group
- AirAsia Group
- TUI UK
- Vueling
- Norwegian
- JetBlue
- FlyNAS
- Cebu Pacific
- Jet2
- Ryanair Ireland and UK
- Spring Airlines China
- Transavia Group
- Eurowings Group
- Volaris6
- WestJet Group
- GOL
- SKY Airline Chile
Just before their safest airline honours, Qantas and Virgin Australia were named among the most punctual airlines in the Asia-Pacific region. Read more about that here.
KARRYON UNPACKS: For Aussie travel advisors, this is a timely trust signal. Safety still shapes booking decisions and recognition for Qantas and Virgin Australia gives you extra confidence when reassuring clients ready to fly again.
